28: Chapter 28 Connecting with the Second German Empire

Section I

The victory in four consecutive naval battles spread Li Ling's reputation throughout East Asia and attracted even greater attention from the powers.

The German Empire was the most proactive.

Ambassador Hermann visited again, this time bringing a higher-ranking representative—a personal representative of German Empire Vice Admiral Grand Admiral Tirpitz, a Major named Karl von Strauss.

"Young Master Li, I have long admired your name." Strauss spoke decent Chinese, though with a heavy German accent.

"Major Strauss, welcome." Li Ling politely asked them to sit.

Strauss got straight to the point: "Young Master Li, our Naval Ministry is very interested in the new weapons in your possession. In particular, the qingyun-1 rifle and Heavy Machine Gun you sold us have performance far exceeding expectations. Our Naval Ministry hopes to establish a deeper cooperative relationship with you."

"What kind of cooperation?" Li Ling asked.

"We hope to purchase your more advanced weaponry, including warships," Strauss said. "At the same time, we also hope to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism with you to jointly deal with Britain's expansion in the Far East."

Li Ling inwardly chuckled. The German Empire wanted to win him over and make him a pawn to check Britain and Russia. However, this was exactly what he wanted.

"Warships?" Li Ling feigned hesitation. "My warships are all for my own use; they are not for sale."

"Young Master Li, we can offer a high price," Strauss said. "For one Pre-dreadnought, we are willing to pay two million taels of silver."

Li Ling was tempted. Two million taels was several times higher than the cost for him to build a Pre-dreadnought.

"Major Strauss, I need to consider this," Li Ling said. "However, I can show you something first."

Section II

Li Ling took Strauss and Ambassador Hermann to the firing range.

He had someone bring out a long wooden crate, opened it, and inside was a brand-new rifle.

"This is..." Strauss looked at the rifle with confusion.

"The Qingyun-2 rifle." Li Ling picked up the gun and skillfully pulled the bolt. "It is more advanced than the Qingyun-1, with longer range, higher accuracy, and better reliability."

He raised the gun, aimed at a target 150 meters away, and pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

The target fell over in response.

Then he fired continuously, and all five bullets hit the target within a few seconds.

Strauss's eyes widened: "A fine gun!"

Li Ling handed the gun to him: "Major, why don't you try it yourself?"

Strauss took the gun and shot, imitating Li Ling's posture. Although he hadn't used a rifle much, he was a soldier after all and quickly grasped the essentials.

"Young Master Li, are you willing to sell this kind of gun?" Strauss's eyes were shining.

"I am." Li Ling smiled. "But the price is not cheap. One Qingyun-2 rifle costs thirty taels of silver."

"Thirty taels?" Ambassador Hermann gasped. "Isn't that too expensive?"

"Quality has its price," Li Ling said. "You can take it back to test. If you feel it's not worth the price, you don't have to buy it."

Strauss and Ambassador Hermann exchanged a glance and then nodded: "Fine, we will buy one thousand samples to take back for testing first."

"No problem." Li Ling readily agreed.

Section III

After seeing the rifles, Li Ling took them to see the production line for the Heavy Machine Gun.

Although he only showed a small part, Strauss was already shocked.

"Young Master Li, your arsenal... it's huge." Strauss looked at the weapons being churned out endlessly on the assembly line, his eyes full of shock.

"It's alright," Li Ling said modestly. "Just a small operation."

A small operation?

Strauss looked at the production line running day and night and smiled bitterly to himself. An arsenal of this scale would be top-tier even in the German Empire. Yet Li Ling was just a small local warlord, and to possess such industrial capability was simply incredible.

"Young Master Li, if I may be so bold as to ask," Strauss lowered his voice, "where did these technologies of yours come from?"

Li Ling had long expected him to ask this and smiled slightly: "That is my secret. Major, you only need to know that I can provide any weapon you want, and the quality is absolutely world-class."

Strauss was silent for a moment, then nodded: "I understand. Young Master Li, I will report truthfully to our Naval Ministry. I believe we will have deeper cooperation."

"I believe so too." Li Ling extended his hand. "Happy to cooperate."

"Happy to cooperate."

Section IV

After sending off Strauss and Ambassador Hermann, Li Ling returned to the study, and the System spoke up.

"Host, wasn't it too early to show them the Qingyun-2 rifle just now?"

"Not early," Li Ling said. "The Qingyun-1 has already been sold to them, and the Qingyun-2 is the next flagship product. I want the German Empire to feel that I always have something better in my hands so that they will continue to cooperate with me."

"That's what you call hunger marketing," the System said.

"Correct." Li Ling smiled. "Moreover, what I sell to them is the civilian version, which is inferior in performance to what we use ourselves. At critical moments, our equipment will always be better than theirs."

"Profiteer," the System retorted.

"Thank you for the compliment."

Section V

The German Empire's order soon came in.

The first batch: five thousand Qingyun-2 rifles, totaling 150,000 taels of silver. In addition, there were one hundred Heavy Machine Guns, totaling 500,000 taels of silver. With the accompanying ammunition and spare parts, the total contract amount exceeded one million taels.

Li Ling couldn't stop smiling from ear to ear.

"System, do you think the Germans are stupid? Spending so much money to buy my weapons."

"They are not stupid," the System said. "They will copy them after buying them. Once they manage to copy them, they won't come looking for you anymore."

"I know." Li Ling nodded. "So I won't sell them the core technology. Rifles and machine guns can be sold, but core equipment like artillery, Radar, and torpedoes will absolutely not be sold."

"Wise," the System said. "Also, you must hurry to develop your own industry. The arms business won't last long; industry is the foundation."

"I'm already doing it," Li Ling said. "Zhang Zhidong's steel mill has already started construction and is expected to produce steel in three months. Once the steel mill is in production, our raw materials will be self-sufficient, and we won't have to be dependent on others anymore."

"That's good," the System said. "However, you also need to pay attention to the issue of talent. Having equipment without talent is useless."

Li Ling nodded. Talent was indeed what he lacked most. Although the System could materialize some virtual characters, the quantity was limited, and most talent still needed to be trained and recruited by himself.

"System, is there any way to quickly acquire talent?"

"Yes," the System said. "Lucky draws. Talent Cards can randomly grant you a professional."

"That depends on luck," Li Ling said. "Is there a more reliable way?"

"Yes," the System said. "You can use resource points to redeem specific talent. For example, if you need a metallurgical expert, you can redeem one for two thousand resource points."

"Two thousand?" Li Ling gasped. "Isn't that too expensive?"

"Quality has its price," the System said. "These talents are the top of this era, so two thousand resource points is a fair price."

Li Ling gritted his teeth: "Redeem one metallurgical expert first."

"Confirm?"

"Confirm."

The System was silent for a moment, then said: "Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Metallurgical Expert—Wang Chongyou, one of the founders of modern Chinese metallurgy."

Li Ling was stunned: "Wang Chongyou? Isn't he a mining and metallurgy expert?"

"Yes," the System said. "He is one of the most outstanding metallurgical experts in modern China and has in-depth research on steel smelting. With his help, the quality of your steel mill will be improved by a level."

Li Ling was overjoyed: "Good! That's great!"

Section VI

After Wang Chongyou was materialized, Li Ling immediately arranged for him to go to the steel mill to work with Zhang Zhidong.

The two great talents hit it off immediately, talked all night, and re-optimized the plan for the steel mill. According to the new plan, after the steel mill goes into production, the annual output could reach 50,000 tons, which would not only satisfy the equipment needs of the Li Family Army but also allow for external sales.

"Mr. Zhang, Mr. Wang, I leave the steel mill to you both," Li Ling said to them.

"Rest assured, Young Master Li," Zhang Zhidong stroked his beard. "With Mr. Wang's help, the steel mill will definitely go into production on schedule."

"Good." Li Ling nodded. "I await your good news."

In the evening, Li Ling returned to the mansion and had a rare moment of relaxation.

Empress Su Wanqing prepared a table full of dishes, and Emily was also invited to eat together. Although the two women did not share a language (Empress Su Wanqing did not speak English, and Emily's Chinese was very poor), they got along quite well and chatted happily with gestures.

Li Ling watched them, feeling a bit worried.

Empress Su Wanqing was his "white moonlight," Emily was interested in him, and the Imperial Princess and the German Princess would also marry him in the future... Four romantic threads, how could he handle them all?

"System, do you think I should learn how to handle relationship issues?" Li Ling thought to himself.

"You really should learn," the System said. "But the most important thing now is the war. As for romantic matters, let's talk about them after the war is over."

"True." Li Ling nodded and took a sip from his wine glass.

Outside the window, the night deepened.

Li Ling looked at the moon outside the window, thinking about the upcoming great battle.

The Dreadnought would be launched in a few days, and by then, he would have the ability to face Japan in a decisive battle.

This day would not be too far off.